TeachRock

Disclaimer:

This lesson contains primary source documents and other materials that may include terms and images reflecting the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times that today are considered offensive and demeaning. Teachrock.org does not endorse the views expressed in these documents, but recognizes the value such materials provide for historical inquiry. For guidance on introducing controversial historical materials into the classroom, we suggest reviewing this document from The Library of Congress: https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2011/11/dealing-with-difficult-subjects-in-primary-sources.

Motivational Activity:

By James Van Der Zee – https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-7943-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58295118

1. Display Image 1, Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Parade in Harlem. Break students into groups and distribute to each group Handout – The Harlem Renaissance Graphic Organizer. Using the photograph above, have student groups complete Part 1 of the graphic organizer.
2. Once student groups have completed Part 1, ask each group to share the three most important questions they have about the photograph. Write the questions on the board and explain to students that they will determine how many of the questions were answered by the end of the lesson.

Procedure

Geological Survey, U.S, and Arch C Gerlach. The national atlas of the United States of America. Washington, 1970. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/79654043/.

1. Display Image 2, Map from U.S. Geological Survey. Instruct student groups to complete the map analysis in Part 2 of Handout – The Harlem Renaissance Graphic Organizer. Once completed, have groups share their answers. Then, ask students:
   • What might be some push factors (reasons to leave the South) and pull factors (reasons to move to other regions) be? (Encourage students to use their acquired knowledge of the Jim Crow South, S\segregation, and resistance to integration to guide their discussions.)
   • Moving somewhere new offers the possibility of re-inventing oneself. How might Black Americans want to reinvent themselves after moving North?
2. Play the YouTube video, “Rise of the New Negro: Identity and Resistance After the Red Summer | Great Migrations”.  Then, ask students:
   • What were some social and political changes that defined the New Negro Movement?
   • What role might art and literature play during the New Negro Movement?
   • Why do you think some Black people invested in creative expression such as music, art, and dance in the Jim Crow era?
3. Instruct student groups to complete Part 3 of the Handout – The Harlem Renaissance Graphic Organizer. After reading the biography and completing the question, have student groups share their answers with the class.
4. Display Image 3, The National Recording Registry Selection Process. Ask students:
   • What is the purpose of the National Recording Registry? (To preserve, highlight, and celebrate important recordings in American music history.)
   • Where is the National Recording Registry housed? (The Library of Congress.)
   • How might recordings be selected to be included in the registry? (Works that collectively showcase “the range and diversity of American recorded sound heritage”.)
5. Distribute to student groups Document Set – 3 Songs from the 1920s Included in the National Registry. Explain that they will be examining essays about three songs from the 1920s which justify their inclusion in the National Registry. Instruct student groups to divide the readings, and collectively fill out the questions in Part 4 of Handout – The Harlem Renaissance Graphic Organizer. Ask groups to report on their discussions to the class.

Summary Activity:

1. Direct student groups to return to the 3 most important questions they wrote at the beginning of the lesson (question #5 on Part 1 of Handout – The Harlem Renaissance Graphic Organizer) and to have a brief conversation on which questions were answered and which were not. Instruct student groups to share a summary of their conversation with the class. Then, ask students:
   • Locke felt that Black cultural accomplishment was a means to elevate Black social standing in the United States. Do you believe this is true, and remains true today? Why or why not?

Extension Activities:

1. If applicable, research questions you felt weren’t answered during the motivational activity. Report to the class the answer to the question your group asked, and how you came to the answer.
2. Choose one of the three artists presented in this lesson (Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey). Create a projects of your own design that celebrates and showcases the lives and contributions of each of these artists. The project might be:
   • An annotated playlist of songs from the artist.
   • An examination of the artist’s legacy and how they influenced future generations of musicians.
     A further exploration of the ways the artists’ career was or was not exemplary of Locke’s idea of the “New Negro”
3. To learn more about the Harlem Renaissance, view these lessons from TeachRock:
   • Blues, Poetry, and the Harlem Renaissance – TeachRock
   • Writing Personal Narratives and The Harlem Renaissance – TeachRock
4. Read “The Whites Invade Harlem” from the Library of Congress. Write an essay considering:
   • What factors contributed to the growing interest of white audiences in Black culture during the Harlem Renaissance?
   • How did the artistic expressions of Black artists during the Harlem Renaissance attract white audiences?
   • In what ways did the Harlem Renaissance challenge existing racial stereotypes, and how did this impact white perceptions of Black culture?
   • Describe the role of Jazz music in bridging the cultural gap between Black and white communities during the Harlem Renaissance.
   • Did the white people mentioned in the reading feel the works of the Harlem Renaissance were equal to white cultural achievements?”
5. Explore additional resources from the Library of Congress: Introduction – Harlem Renaissance – Research Guides at Library of Congress.
6. Read, Respond, and Discuss “Ma Rainey’s Lesbian Lyrics: 5 Times She Expressed Her Queerness in Song | Billboard”.
7. Read, Respond, and Discuss: Smithsonian Collections Blog: “Prove It on Me: Ma Rainey and the Queer Blues”.
8. Read “Shut Up and Play: A Brief History from The African American Folklorist” and write an essay considering connections to the Harlem Renaissance and the present, and how the concept of the “New Negro” are in some forms still in discussion today.

Document Set – 3 Songs from the 1920s Included in the National Registry Handout – The Harlem Renaissance Graphic Organizer

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Social Studies Standards

History

• D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
• D2.His.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
• D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

California History–Social Science Content Standards

11.5 Students analyze the major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s.

• 5.Describe the Harlem Renaissance and new trends in literature, music, and art, with special attention to the work of writers (e.g., Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes).

District of Columbia Social Studies Standards

• US2.37 Analyze the impact of the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Renaissance in Washington, DC on American culture, including analysis of literature, music, dance, theater, queer culture and scholarship from the period.

Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework Standards

Topic 2. Modernity in the United States: ideologies and economies [USII.T2]

• Analyze primary sources (e.g., documents, audio or film recordings, works of art and artifacts), to develop an argument about how the conflict between traditionalism and modernity manifested itself in the major societal trends and events in first two decades of the 20th century.

Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Standards

US-4. The 1920s, Great Depression, and New Deal

• US.His.6.a. Analyze how authors, artists, and musicians documented perspectives and experiences of individuals and groups throughout the interwar period (e.g., Jacob Lawrence, Dorthea Lange, Langston Hughes, Billie Holiday, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón).

New Jersey Student Learning Standards – Social Studies

Era 8. The Emergence of Modern America: Roaring Twenties (1890–1930)

• 6.1.12.EconNE.8.a: Analyze the push-pull factors that led to the Great Migration.
• 6.1.12.HistoryCC.8.c: Identify the conditions that gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance and assess the impact of artists, writers, and musicians on American culture.

Social Studies – National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

• Theme 1: Culture
• Theme 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
• Theme 3: People, Place, and Environments
• Theme 5: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

Common Core State Standards

College and Career Readiness Reading Literature Standards for Grades 9-12

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

College and Career Readiness Reading Information Text Standards for Grades 9-12

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing for Grades 9-12

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening for Grades 9-12

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.